Akumade Mo
by Jaws That Bite
Summary: Title may change. After killing his entire clan, Itachi takes the young Naruto with him. Naruto grows up with him. Seven years later, he receives his toughest mission: watch Sasuke. HIATUS not discontinued
1. In the Memory, the Beginning

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. That's all.

Akumade Mo

By: Blade-kun

* * *

"_Oi."_

_A small blonde looked up from his swing to see a tall, dark haired boy standing before him, illuminated by the moonlight._

"_Who are you?" the boy asked._

_Instead of answering, the older asked, "What are you doing here?"_

_The blonde fidgeted. "Um…well, I'm not supposed to be here, cause it's late, but it's quieter now, and no one's here to look at me funny."_

"_Why would they do that?"_

"_Because…they say I'm a monster."_

_Silence._

"_Are you sad?"_

_The blonde looked up, then away. "Kinda…but it's okay. It only hurts for a while. They've been doing it forever. You're the first person who hasn't. How come?"_

_The elder shrugged. "You're too small to be a monster. I'm the real monster."_

"_You are?"_

"_Yes."_

_The boy saddened. "You must be lonely, too."_

_There were a few moments of silence as the dark-haired one stared at the blonde, who stared at the ground._

"_Do you want to come with me?"_

_The blonde looked up. "…You want me…to come with you…?"_

"_If you wish."_

_The boy stared at him as he held out his hand. After a long moment, the small blonde hesitantly reached out and took it._

"_Okay…"_

* * *

Life was simple. Kill, eat, and sleep. Those were the basics.

Unless one lived with Uchiha Itachi.

Naruto stared out the window passively, a sword resting in his arms and a black coat decorated with red clouds over his shoulders. He had lived with Itachi for 7 years now, ever since the elder had come to him one day in Konoha and asked him if he wanted to leave. Naruto didn't know Itachi at all then, but had accepted anyway. Now he lived within the confines of the Akatsuki organization with his dark-haired 'brother', although his existence to them was only half known. They knew him as the promising boy that stayed with Itachi, a powerful fighter who occasionally accompanied the elder on some missions, or otherwise sat in Itachi's room and waited for his return.

They knew not of the Kyuubi within him. It was a secret he and his foster brother had sealed.

Life with Itachi was a bunch of up and downs. Sure it seemed simple, but Itachi was possessed of strange whims, which possessed him at times to do strange things, and ask odd or even ridiculous favors of Naruto. Once before he'd left for a mission, he made Naruto swear to watch the sky the entire time he was gone. Naruto had grudgingly obliged, even depriving himself of food and sleep.

Fortunately, Itachi was only gone for three days.

Of course Naruto had observed nothing new, odd, or out of place about the sky, and to his distaste, when he asked the elder as to why he was told to Itachi denied him an answer. To this day, he still had no earthly idea why Itachi had asked that of him

It made him wonder why he'd ever gone with the strange, whimsical ex-ANBU.

Naruto had left with Itachi that fateful day for one, maybe two reasons: Itachi had wanted him to come, to be around him, something no one else had ever wanted of Naruto. And Naruto felt somehow, he could trust him.

Itachi taught him everything. He told him everything. Naruto remembered one night four years ago when Itachi had gathered him into his lap and quietly confessed his sin, his killing of his entire clan, and how he had spared only his brother. Naruto had listened and understood. He thought no less of Itachi. He wondered if there was anything Itachi could do that would make him think less of him.

Probably not.

Unless he sided with that snake traitor who Naruto despised with every particle of his being. That would just be wrong.

Fortunately, Itachi detested the snake man almost as much as he did. Only he was much more subtle about it.

"Naruto."

Naruto glanced away from the window over to Itachi.

"Yeah?"

"I have something I'd like you to do."

Naruto nodded slowly. "Which is?"

"I'm sending you back to Konoha."

Naruto frowned. "What for?"

"I want you to watch my brother."

Naruto blinked. "You've got to be kidding me. You're sending me off for so stupid a task? They don't want me back there. They'll probably kill me as soon as I arrive. There'd better be a good reason for this."

"There is. Orochimaru."

Naruto bristled at the name. "That snaky son of a bitch? What about him?"

"He wants Sasuke."

A pause. "He wants your brother."

"Yes."

Naruto turned back to the window. "Big deal."

"Naruto."

"What?"

"I do not want Orochimaru to have him."

"So you stop him."

"I can't. It would give away too much. As far as Konoha is concerned, I kidnapped you. As far as they believe, I took you to use the Kyuubi within you. You will be safe there. All you have to do is watch Sasuke."

Naruto sighed. "Why can't I just kill him? Wouldn't it be quicker?"

"Naruto."

"Yeah, yeah. Your little ending, the true successor of your clan, either you kill him, or he kills you. Your stupid plan is such a pain in my ass."

Itachi smiled a little. "Thank you, Naruto."

"Meh. Shut up."

Itachi gracefully obliged and sat down beside Naruto, pulling the pouting fox-boy into his lap and wrapping his arms loosely around him. Naruto raised an eyebrow as he glanced up at the elder's face.

"Aren't I a little old for this?" he asked.

"Is that a complaint?"

Naruto shrugged, "Just wondering." He settled himself back against Itachi.

For moments the quiet dragged on before Naruto popped the question.

"Why?"

Itachi looked down. "Why what?"

Naruto kept his eyes closed. "Why did you spare your brother?"

Itachi didn't answer for a moment. Instead, he rested his head on top of Naruto's.

"You'll soon find out for yourself."

* * *

"So this is it huh? I'm really gonna do this?"

Naruto glanced up from where he sat on a tree branch, one leg dangling and loosely holding his sword, at Itachi, who stood calmly beside him.

"Yes," Itachi said, "Just remember what I told you, and use your wits if trouble stirs. I'll be in contact with you." He glanced around and pointed. "There," he said, "I'll meet you there every week on the last day at sundown. Until then, just be on the lookout."

Naruto nodded, memorizing the spot. He then sighed and looked over Konoha. "It's been so long since I've been here. It still looks the same." He bowed his head. "I don't know what I'm gonna do."

"Well, I've heard the other two Sennin are here, and one is soon to become Godaime."

Naruto started. "Is the old man dead?"

"No, just as you said, old," Itachi glanced back, "Granted, the other isn't young, but nonetheless…"

Naruto followed the other's eyes. "They getting close?"

"Yes. It's time for me to go."

Naruto pouted ever so slightly, eyes downcast. Itachi noticed.

"It won't be forever, Naruto," he said, "Just be--"

"Patient, yeah, I know," he finished, then grinned, "Kinda sucks though I had to leave my coat behind. You better take care of it."

Itachi nodded and both turned in the direction they could sense others coming. Naruto turned to Itachi.

"Do it to me."

Another nod of acknowledgement before Itachi pulled free his sword and slashed Naruto several times. Naruto hissed in pain.

"That should do it," Itachi said, "Remember, do not use any of my jutsus that they would be familiar with."

"Yeah I know," Naruto said, holding the gash on his arm, "Take care of my coat."

Itachi only nodded before disappearing. Naruto stood.

"Well, time to get started."

He hopped from the tree and began to run.

Itachi watched him, hidden.

"Good luck…Naruto…"

He vanished.

Kakashi frowned in disapproval. How strange. He could have sworn he felt the chakra here. The ANBU team with him pulled to a halt as he glanced around.

"They're gone?" one said.

Kakashi leaned over a patch of foliage smeared with blood. He wiped a bit and examined it.

'They're slipping up…' "They moved on," he said, "One of them is wounded."

"I sense movement of chakra in that direction," another said, pointing. "It's a little slower than before."

Kakashi followed the blood trail on the ground to the same direction. "It's the wounded one. Let's move."

The others nodded and dashed off, Kakashi leading. He kept his eyes trained on the small trails of blood dotting the ground occasionally and certain branches. The chakra signal was getting closer. Soon they would be upon it.

Suddenly it stopped.

Kakashi started and jerked out a hand, stopping abruptly. All movement ceased a split second before something lunged at him. He saw light glint off a blade and dodged, lashing out and striking his attacker. The person flew back and stumbled to the ground, skidding before rolling to their feet.

"Identify yourself," he commanded.

The shadow let out a low curse and slowly turned to him. Kakashi let out a breath.

Blond hair, blue eyes…it couldn't be…

"Sir…isn't that…?" an ANBU gasped out.

Kakashi stared. 'The missing vessel…Naruto…?'

Naruto narrowed his eyes. "Bastard!" he growled, "The hell was that for!"

"Identify yourself," he repeated.

"Who cares who I am!" he snarled, "It never mattered before! Though I'll credit you on a hell of a greeting!"

Kakashi frowned. "Is it you…? Are you Uzumaki Naruto?"

"What's it to you?" was the reply.

"Are you?" Firmer this time, more demanding.

A shrug. "So what if I am?" he grinned wickedly, "Yeah, it's me, the bastard, parentless demon nobody of Konoha. What, are you saying you weren't happy I was gone? I figured you'd appreciate to be rid of the sin."

Kakashi glared. "You assume too much. Where have you been? Why have you returned now?"

"You sure this is the time and place for this?" was the mocking response, "If you must know, I was being chased, but I'm guessing my pursuer sensed you guys and backed off. I guess I should be thanking you."

Kakashi was silent for a moment before slowly approaching the blonde, stopping only a few feet away. He scanned his eyes up and down Naruto, said boy watching quietly. After a few moments, the elder sighed.

"Come with me," he said, "The Hokage will need to be informed of your return."

Naruto gave him a malicious, almost bitter grin.

"Gee, it's so great to be home."

* * *

"What!"

The Hokage and Tsunade turned and stared as Kakashi ushered Naruto in, Jiraiya observing from the shadows.

"We detected two chakra sources outside the village and tracked them. We found him, but the other got away."

Sarutobi looked over Naruto and smiled slightly. "It's good to see you again, Naruto."

Despite himself, Naruto couldn't help but smile back. "Ji-chan."

"Uzumaki Naruto," Tsunade spoke up, stepping forward, "Care to tell us where you've been these past seven years?"

Naruto turned to her. "Sorry. Who are you?"

"Her name is Tsunade," Sarutobi replied, "She is one of the three legendary Sennin, along with Jiraiya in the corner, and is soon to be the 5th Hokage."

"What, ji-chan, retiring in your old age?" Naruto smirked.

Tsunade frowned. "Show some respect for your elders, brat."

"Hmph. Elders indeed."

Tsunade growled, but the Third waved her off.

"Calm down," he said, "Naruto, please answer the question."

Naruto glanced around at every person in the room before turning back to the Third. "Well, if you have to know I was kidnapped by that weirdo. He took me with him to some weird organization and kept me under surveillance there. They trained me, but I was more their prisoner than their guest. They let me roam about freely, but kept an eye on me at all times. If they sent me on a mission, I had an escort. About a week ago, I was sent on an outing, but my escort got careless and went off to investigate something or other. I saw the opportunity and took off. I didn't really think of coming here until a few days ago. At first I was just trying to get away."

The Third nodded. "I see. Did they keep you in the dark about their doings?"

"For the most part, unless I was given a mission. They did smuggle me into a Chuunin exam once."

"A Chuunin exam? For what village? Did you pass?"

"Yeah, I passed. They put me under this village, but only after confirming I would be the only Leaf participant."

"I see," the Third glance at Kakashi, "Do you have any information on this organization? Any at all?"

"I forget the name," he grinned, "But they are interested in power. They do though hate one person, and it's only one thing they and I agree on."

"And who is that?"

"That bastard snake freak, Orochimaru."

All occupants started.

"Have you met him? Personally?" Jiraiya spoke for the first time.

"Yeah, once. And I despise him. I want the guy dead even more than they do. I dream of the day I could see him splattered over the walls in itty bitty pieces," Naruto spaced out for a second, entertaining the thought, "But he's obnoxiously persistent at staying alive."

"Indeed…"

A few moments of silence dragged on before the Third cleared his throat.

"Well, in that case…Naruto, I will reinstate you as a Konoha ninja, and allow you to keep your Chuunin status following a background check to verify what you said. You will be assigned to Kakashi's team. He only has two students, who are also Chuunins."

Naruto frowned but nodded. 'Well, it's a start. I still need to find the Uchiha though…'

The Third rummaged through his draw before drawing out a blue headband and handing it to Naruto.

"Here," he said, carefully placing it in the blonde's hand, "This is your hitai-ate. Take care of it."

Naruto stared at it and smiled slightly. "Thanks, ji-chan."

Tsunade then stepped forward and grabbed his shoulder. "Come here, brat."

"Oi! What're you doing, baa-chan!"

She tensed and shoved him into a chair a little more forcefully than intended. "Shut up. You're injured. I'm a healer, so just be quiet and let me do my job."

Naruto scowled, but complied. She tugged at his shirt and he grudgingly pulled it off. The Third returned to his desk, chuckling, and Kakashi leaned against a nearby wall. Tsunade examined the gashes and ordered a kit, which was given to her in moments, proceeding to clean and patch the injuries, healing the deeper ones. She refrained from healing the others as payback for the 'baa-chan' comment.

"There," she said finally, "Now get lost, brat."

Naruto smirked. "Thanks, baa-chan."

She tensed and whapped him in the head. Kakashi stepped forward.

"Oi,oi. Naruto, let's go"

"Meh. Whatever."

The Third watched them leave. "Seven long years. I wonder how much he has changed. And how much he has endured."

Only time would tell.

To be continued…


	2. Target Acquired, my name is Death

Akumade Mo

By: Blade-kun

Disclaimer: Same as before.

* * *

"Hm. Same as always."

Naruto let out a sigh as he glanced his old apartment. It was for the most part empty and untouched, just like he'd left it. He bent down to pick up an old, dusty carton off the floor. Blowing on it, he gently rubbed a bit of the dust away. It read ramen.

"Heh," Naruto chuckled, "How nostalgic. I haven't had this stuff in ages. Not since…"

He trailed off and finished in his head, 'Not since Itachi took me away.'

Sighing again, he let the carton drop to the floor and turned to face the hallway. He ran he hand across the walls and re-explored the place he'd once called home. He remembered something Itachi once told him.

_"Home is not always a place. To some, home is wherever they feel at peace, or where the people they care about are. Tell me, Naruto. Where is your home?"_

Naruto smiled as he recalled his reply.

_"With you."_

It was the truth. Back then, Konoha had never been 'home', with its cold glares and cruel words. If home was a place of peace and a person you cared about, then his was Itachi. Itachi was all he'd ever known.

He shook his head. He was reminiscing enough as it is.

He peeked into his old bedroom, a closet with clothes too small for his form, and table with a glass of water over seven years old, a blanket faded from the sun's rays. He smiled a little at the pajamas that still lay on the bed from that night so long ago. He had thrown on some regular clothes before he'd went to his swing, not wanting to wander around in pjs in the middle of the night.

Gently, he lifted them up and fingered the worn fabric. It felt soft under his skin, and he smell the scent it carried. The smell of times long past.

He then scorned himself mentally for getting wrapped up in the past and tossed the pajamas back unto the bed with a little wistful scoff before shuffling back into the kitchen. He glanced at his fridge warily. If that glass of water was still where he left it, what of his food? He hesitantly laid his hand on the handle, and taking a deep breath jerked his fridge open.

"Wha--?"

It was empty.

Naruto frowned in shock. There was not a single carton or drop of food left in it. It was completely bare.

"Not that I'm complaining," he mumbled, shutting it and rubbing the back of his head, "Smelly food ain't my thing. But if everything else is untouched, then how'd all my food magically disappear?"

The door opened.

Naruto instantly whirled around, sword drawn, as he heard someone step inside his home. He silently crept back against the wall, so not to be seen, and listened as whoever it was closed the door and walked a few steps. They paused in the living room by the sound of the steps and for a long moment nothing happened. Naruto titled his sword, ready to come out and see what was up when they moved again, this time in his direction. The odd thing was, they didn't sound careful. Instead, the steps sounded…heavy. Like the person was completely at ease being here.

'Teme!' Naruto thought, 'Walking around my house like they own it. I'll chop off their toes for this.'

Naruto spared a brief moment to ponder why he was getting possessive about a place he had otherwise completely forgotten about until a few hours ago.

He silently slid his foot out, sword ready, as the person stepped into the kitchen.

The next thing they felt was a sword at their throat.

"Don't move."

The person instantly froze, limbs rigid in surprise. Naruto frowned.

"What are you doing here?"

The person raised their hands slightly in surrender and turned their head just enough to see him. Naruto almost dropped his sword in surprise.

"…I…Iruka…sensei?"

Iruka honestly didn't know what to think when he suddenly found cold steel pressed to his throat on his usual visit to Naruto's old apartment, but he certainly didn't expect to find himself face to face with the boy who had haunted his thoughts for seven years. The fear he'd felt quickly drained into shock.

"N…Naruto…?"

A long moment passed.

Naruto scowled and dropped his sword. "What the hell are you doing here? I almost opened a hole in your throat! Is it part of your policy to just randomly walk into others' houses?"

Iruka barely registered the callous words in his complete and utter surprise.

"What am I doing here?" he said in an awed, almost reverent tone of voice. He felt like he'd just seen a ghost. Maybe he had. Maybe he was. "What are you doing here?"

Naruto cocked an eyebrow and placed a hand on his hip. "I live here," he stated simply.

Iruka shook his head fiercely, rubbing his eyes and blinking continuously. Naruto growled.

"What the hell are you doing?"

"It must be something I ate," Iruka mumbled to himself, "I'm either hallucinating or dreaming. God, Naruto, can't you spare me a moment's rest?"

Naruto stared at him as if his head were cut off. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"Now I'm talking to him," Iruka moaned, "Kakashi's right, I'm losing it."

Naruto tensed. "I'm right here," he pointed out.

"And he answers," Iruka shook his head, "Yep, definitely one of the worser ones."

"Excuse you, asshole!" Naruto snapped, "If there something so wrong with me, then why don't I just make that scar on your face a double! Or do you prefer a cross!"

Iruka jumped at the harsh tone and before he could move Naruto reached out and fiercely grabbed his wrist.

Iruka yelped in surprise. "Hey, that hurts!"

"Does this feel like a hallucination to you?" Naruto snapped, somewhere between calm and angry.

Iruka went to argue as he heard the words, but instead froze. Did he dare believe it? Slowly, he moved his eyes to meet those of the blonde before him, who seemed only mildly irritated now. Iruka felt as if he were in a trance as he reached slowly to touch the hand that held his arm. It felt warm under his skin.

"…Naruto…?" he finally managed.

Naruto's eyes softened just a tiny bit. "Yeah, it's me."

If he wanted to say anything else, he was unable as Iruka grabbed him in a hug. Naruto started violently at the contact. Only Itachi had ever touched him in something more than a tap on the shoulder. He felt himself go limp in surprise, unsure what to do.

"Gods, Naruto…" Iruka mumbled in what sounded like a half-sob, "It's really you…"

Naruto didn't answer. After a moment though, he did clear his throat. This seemed to bring Iruka out of it and he released Naruto.

"Ur…sorry…I was just…so happy to see you."

Naruto stared at him in complete bafflement for a second time. Iruka fidgeted.

"So, um…what are you doing here?"

Oh, smooth. Real smooth.

Naruto snapped out of it and frowned. "As I believe I stated before, I live here."

"But you've been gone for so long!" Iruka protested, "When did you get back anyway! What happened to you! Where have you been all these years!"

"I was kidnapped, remember?" Naruto said, folding his arms. Oh, the lies slid so easily off his tongue.

"I know, but…!" Iruka paused and sighed, "Never mind. It doesn't matter. Obviously you escaped." He glanced over the blonde and smiled. "I'm glad you're back."

Naruto didn't know how much more he could take. Did this guy have any idea what he was saying?

"What are you doing here anyway?" Naruto asked.

Iruka blushed in embarrassment. "Oh…well…" he glanced at the floor, "Ever since you were taken…I…I come here after school. At first I thought you'd be recovered soon, but it never happened. And…well…I missed you, I guess…so I started coming here. I guess I eventually started imagining that one day you'd be here, just like before…"

Naruto was speechless. "You…you missed me?"

Iruka nodded, embarrassed.

Naruto tried to remain calm, but his head was spinning. He couldn't fathom anyone missing him. Only Itachi cared about him. But here was his old teacher, in his apartment. And no matter how ridiculous it sounded, he couldn't believe it was a lie. He knew it wasn't a lie. Why else would his teacher be here?

Then a thought struck him.

"Are you the one who emptied my fridge?"

"Huh?" Iruka started at the question, "Oh, ur, yes. I just didn't think it would be a good idea to leave the food to spoil, especially after all the time that passed. I didn't touch anything else though."

Naruto nodded and scrutinized him for a long moment.

"What?"

"You really missed me?"

Iruka blinked in surprise. "Yes."

"Why?"

Iruka blinked again and thought for a moment, folding his arms. "Well, I don't know," he admitted, "I just did. It just seemed so…empty without you. So dull."

Naruto studied him. He wasn't lying. Naruto couldn't believe it.

After a taking a few minutes to get over his shock, he sheathed his sword.

"Okay," he said, "I believe you."

Iruka smiled.

Naruto turned back toward his kitchen when a low rumble sounded and he rested his hand to his stomach.

"Heh, heh. Guess I'm hungry. Haven't eaten in a while."

"How long is 'a while'?" It was amazing how quickly Iruka picked up that scolding parent tone.

"Eto…" Naruto hummed in thought, "Five days? Six days?"

Iruka looked like he wanted nothing more than to give the blonde a sound smack in the head, but withheld and sighed instead. "Alright. How bout lunch, my treat?"

Naruto grinned. "Works for me." He reached down and lifted the carton he'd earlier discarded. "How bout some of this?" he said pointing, "Haven't had it in a long time."

Iruka suddenly felt a deep sense of foreboding.

Ramen.

* * *

"Ahh! Damn, I forgot how good this stuff was!"

Iruka stared in mild humor and exasperation at the empty bowls by Naruto. "Ur, right."

Naruto wiped his mouth and grinned. "Oi, ojisan! It was awesome!"

The man smiled. "Well, then, feel free to come back any time."

"Naruto, do you have something to do?" Iruka asked as they stood up to leave. Naruto glanced at him curiously and he felt a small pang of panic. "The Hokage does know you're back, right?"

"Course he does," Naruto answered, "I was checking out my house until you showed up."

Iruka shook off the embarrassment. "Well, do you have anything else to do?"

"Not until tomorrow. The Hokage assigned me to Kakashi and whatever's team. Please tell me they're not complete losers."

"No, they're quite promising," Iruka assured, "Well, it was pretty bad at first. One had a huge crush on the other and thus she didn't want to fight him. And since there's only two on their team, progress was slow for a while."

"I see."

"What about you, Naruto? What have you learned while you were away?"

Naruto grinned maliciously, "A lot. I've seen things Iruka-sensei that would make you so sick you wouldn't be able to vomit or scare you so bad you wouldn't be able to scream."

Iruka shuddered. The look on Naruto's face was…frightening.

Just as quickly it was back to normal. "But enough of that. It's in the past. I don't need to bother you with it. So, do you still teach at the academy?"

"Yeah. I was also an examiner for the previous Chuunin exams."

"Really? Sounds like fun. Did lots of them die?"

Iruka was rather disturbed by how hopeful Naruto looked. "Uh, no. There were almost no casualties."

Naruto's face fell and he sighed. "Really? How boring. Must not have been much of a fight."

Iruka cringed. Naruto seemed to have developed a bloodlust wherever he'd been. Naruto just kept walking.

"Well, in any case, sensei, I'd better get going. I've got groceries to get, clothes to buy, and people to find. You should probably head off to." Naruto said. He reached as though to adjust his coat and remembered it wasn't there. He silently cursed. He felt so naked without it. 'Itachi better be keeping his word.'

"I guess you're right," Iruka said, "Well then, see you around, Naruto." He patted the boy's shoulder and headed off. Naruto watched him go. The one person who'd really missed him.

"Ah. See ya around…sensei."

* * *

Naruto grunted as he dropped the bags unceremoniously unto the table in his kitchen, wiping his brow.

"Whew. That was more work than I thought."

'_**Hmph. You're slacking off, kit.'**_

Naruto scowled instantly. "I don't remember asking for your advice, bastard."

'_**You don't need to ask. I'm always willing to give it, you know that.'**_

"Smartass," Naruto growled.

'_**I could help.'**_

"No."

He could feel the fox pouting. Of course Kyuubi would deny it. Children pout, girls pout, _humans_ pout, scary fox demons who destroyed villages and inflicted massive property damage for a hobby certainly did not.

'_**Come on. You've had your fun. Let me out.'**_

"No. There's no one to kill, thus no reason to do so."

'_**What, I can't come out to talk with you?'**_

"You're perfectly capable of that where you are."

The fox grumbled. **_'Kuso gaki.'_**

"Baka kitsune."

'_**You're just taking this out on me because you miss Itachi, aren't you?'**_

"You're the one who said something. I--" he cut himself off, remembering the possibility that ANBU might be watching him, "He has nothing to do with this."

He felt Kyuubi roll his eyes. **_'Don't be stupid, kit. You wouldn't even be talking to me if they were nearby.'_**

"Maybe, but at least if they were, they would just think I'm talking to myself."

_'**You are talking to yourself.'**_

"You know what I mean. They'd think I'm crazy."

_'**You are crazy.'**_

"Asshole fox! Shut your trap!"

_'**You set yourself up for it.'**_

"No, you're just a bastard."

_'**Believe me, they won't watch you. Not like this anyway. I may not really know him, but I can tell the old man feels for your 'situation'. I bet three of my tails he told the ANBU to let you be so you wouldn't feel smothered in Konoha.'**_

"What makes you know so much about him?"

_'**I don't know him. I know you.'**_

Naruto had no response for this, so instead he quietly set about putting things away.

_'**Visit me tonight. It's been a while since our last meeting.'**_

"Okay."

Kyuubi was silent. Naruto put away the rest of his food and hung his new clothes. When he finished he stuffed the old clothes into a bag. 'I'll take care of them tomorrow.'

He then fell back onto the bed, bringing an arm up to cover his eyes. He would never admit it, but Kyuubi was right. Somewhere inside, he did miss Itachi. It wasn't because he couldn't handle his situation, or because he felt a dire need to be near him, but rather because he knew that soon his old/new home would challenge everything he'd known until know, everything he believed in. Iruka had shown him that. And he was afraid of it. Life with Itachi was simple. And he knew this life would be anything but.

'I need to find Sasuke…'

Sighing, he curled up into a ball, closing his eyes.

"Night, Itachi," he whispered.

He could almost hear the answering call in his head.

_'Oyasumi…Naruto…'_

* * *

"YAWN Damn, I'm tired," Naruto mumbled.

_'**How can you be tired? You slept like a log.'**_

"I don't know, maybe because a certain somebody didn't."

Kyuubi growled. **_'It's not like I shared or anything.'_**

"When you're that restless, you don't have to."

An answering growl echoed in his head.

"Do us a favor and take a nap. I don't have time to talk to you. I have things to do."

Kyuubi mumbled something incomprehensive and was silent.

"Now let's see…" Naruto glanced around, "Kakashi told me it was somewhere around here…"

It was then he realized nothing looked familiar.

"Damn it! That bastard! It's been 7 years since I was here! I don't remember everything!"

"Oi, Naruto."

Naruto looked up to see the object of his scorn.

"You! Kuso teme! You didn't give me any directions!"

Kakashi shrugged and landed beside the irritable blonde. "I thought you might've gotten lost, so I came to pick you up."

"I wouldn't have gotten lost if you'd given me info the first time!"

"Saa, saa," Kakashi said, waving his hands in surrender, "Ikuzo, Naruto."

"Meh."

It didn't take them too long to reach a bridge where two people stood waiting. One of them turned and sucked in a breath.

"Kakashi-sensei!" she hollered, "YOU'RE LATE!"

Kakashi winced. "Ma, Sakura. This time I have a good excuse."

Sakura paused in her ranting. "Huh?"

Kakashi pressed a hand to Naruto's back and shoved him forward. Naruto stumbled a little in surprise before turning a dark glare on the silver-haired Jounin.

"This," he said, "is Uzumaki Naruto-kun. Naruto, this is Haruno Sakura," he nodded to the pinked haired girl, "and Uchiha Sasuke."

Naruto nearly dropped dead of a heart attack.

Instantly his eyes locked onto the other figure. Dark hair and eyes glancing at him in mild curiosity. Kakashi's hand on his shoulder pulled him out of it and he looked up.

"He will be joining our team from now on," Kakashi continued, "He's been away for a long time due to…unfortunate circumstances, but now that he's here, I would appreciate if you at least tried to get along," he finished by glancing at Sasuke. The dark-haired boy snorted and looked away.

Naruto frowned. 'Well, you can definitely see the family resemblance. Even so, I never imagined I'd find him so quickly, or so conveniently. It will be easy for me to keep an eye on him this way.' He grinned. 'Inari must be smiling on us for now, ne, Kyuubi?'

"Oh. Um, konnichiwa, Naruto," Sakura said, "It's nice to meet you."

'May as well make an effort.' "Likewise, Sakura-chan. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Kakashi eyed Naruto's smile suspiciously. The blonde boy now was very different from the one in the Hokage's office the other day, but Kakashi did not miss the strange glint in Naruto's eye.

"And you as well, of course…Sasuke-kun," Naruto said.

Sasuke snorted. "I have no use for a dobe like you. Don't get in my way."

Naruto twitched and glared. "Who are you calling a dobe, ass?"

"That would be you, baka."

Naruto's glare darkened. 'What a bastard. Being an Uchiha doesn't give him any right to be a jerk.' "You're not a very nice person, Sasuke-kun."

"I don't care."

"Ne, Sasuke-kun…" Sakura said, trying to ease the tension.

Naruto sighed. 'He's just like Itachi: dark, brooding, and stupid.' He studied the Uchiha for a moment, a hand on his hip, 'Itachi's better looking though.'

"Well anyway, you two go on ahead," Kakashi said, "We'll catch up in a moment."

Sasuke wordlessly went on ahead, Sakura following after a moment tossing an uncertain look at Naruto. He smiled reassuringly and waited until they were out of sight before turning to Kakashi.

"So what do you want?"

"I didn't get a chance to ask you before, but I need to confirm," Kakashi met Naruto eye to eye, "Naruto, is Uchiha Itachi the one who kidnapped you seven years ago?"

Naruto frowned. "The Hokage told you to ask me this?"

"Yes. We've had suspicions and evidence, but you are the final proof. Was he?"

Naruto folded his arms, debating whether or not to answer truthfully.

_"Naruto, if they ask you if you were taken by me, confirm it. We need to make them believe you have as little attachment to me as possible. The more they think you hate me, the easier it will be to contact."_

Oh, yeah, that was what Itachi said, wasn't it? "Yes, he did."

Kakashi sighed. "Naruto…Sasuke isn't Itachi. I would appreciate it if you didn't begrudge him because of this. He has nothing to do with it."

Naruto raised an eyebrow. Is that what this was about? They thought he held something against Sasuke? "He's the one who started it. Does he know about this?"

"No," Kakashi assured, "Sasuke has no idea Itachi abducted you. And we would like to keep it that way for as long as possible."

Naruto's frown deepened. "You might not be able to keep it from him forever."

"Maybe," Kakashi agreed, "Even so, I would be grateful for your effort."

"Meh. Whatever."

"Alright then." Kakashi sighed. "Now that that's settled, let's go."

Naruto shrugged. 'Itachi…this might be a little hard. Pretending to hate you isn't hard if I think of your annoying quirks and habits, and I'm a very good actor. But your brother…he's gonna be a problem, I can tell.'

"What took you two so long?" Sakura asked when they arrived.

"I was just getting Naruto up to date on some things here. Now then, shall we get started? We will have a sparring match to see how well you can work together and so you can see each other's abilities. I will watch, and interfere anytime I think things are getting too out of hand."

Naruto glanced around at all three, then said, "Is my sword allowed?"

"Hm?" Kakashi blinked.

"Is my sword allowed?" he repeated.

"Hmm…" Kakashi looked thoughtful, "I suppose. For now, at least."

"Good," Naruto grinned maliciously at the other two, drawing his sword, "Don't think I'll take it easy on you two just because you're my teammates now. I've developed a bit of a…bloodlust, where I was."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed. "Don't underestimate us. Sakura."

Sakura nodded and they fell into sparring positions.

Naruto grinned. 'That's right, Sasuke. Show me if I'm going to have to do all the work, or if you actually have enough skills to protect yourself when I'm not around.'

The battle began.

* * *

Sasuke growled low in his throat. He couldn't believe this. He and Sakura were a good team once she stopped pussyfooting around, and they were two people, and yet they still couldn't seem to slow him down.

Naruto was relentless. Absolutely relentless. Nothing they did seemed to matter to the blonde. It wasn't as if they hadn't scored any hits. Naruto was in about the same condition they were. But he just never seemed to tire.

"Sasuke-kun, what should we do?" Sakura asked, "This will go on forever if we don't find someway to reign Naruto in."

Sasuke scowled. "I know."

"What's wrong?"

Both jerked their heads up.

"Why are you hiding? Come on, I don't have all day!"

"That bastard's taunting us," Sasuke snarled.

"He scares me, Sasuke. It's like he's having fun. Lots of fun."

Sasuke nodded and darted out, fist clenched. Naruto turned and caught the first punch, but the second caught him in the face.

Naruto flipped and landed on a tree branch. "Not bad. But not good enough, either."

He slashed at Sasuke, who dodged.

"What the hell's with you!" he snarled, "Why don't you fall? Don't you feel anything?"

Naruto paused long enough for Sasuke to pull a combo on him that sent him flying back. He balanced himself out, landing against the tree, and wiped the blood from his lip.

"Was that supposed to hurt then? You'll have to do better than that. Tell me, do you know what torture is?"

Suddenly Naruto was in front of him, face inches away. He had that evil little grin again.

"Boo."

Sasuke's eyes widened. Naruto planted his fist into Sasuke's gut, then kicked him in the face. He spiraled backwards into the ground with a loud grunt of pain. Moaning, he pushed himself up on one arm, and Naruto was there, sword ready.

"STOP!"

Sasuke gasped. Naruto's katana was pressed to his throat, and he held a kunai against the blonde's heart. Naruto was smiling down at him, an eerie smile.

"Very good, Sasuke."

And for the first time in years, Sasuke knew fear.

Pain, death, these things meant nothing to Naruto. Nothing at all. And that realization shook him to the core.

"Naruto, that's enough. Back off. The spar is over," Kakashi said, a note of finality in his tone.

Naruto blinked once, twice and stared at Sasuke.

"Ano…Sasuke?"

And suddenly, it seemed like Naruto was a completely different person.

"Get off me," Sasuke growled, feeling the fear disappear completely. He pressed his kunai against Naruto threateningly.

Naruto lifted his sword and backed off. "What's your problem? You wanted it."

"Hmph. Dobe."

"Teme!"

"Oi, that's enough," Kakashi said. Sakura came forward, still a little unsure after her earlier cry for them to cease. Kakashi glanced at her, then at Naruto. 'I'd better tell the Hokage about this. Wherever Naruto's been, it seems that he was treated rather brutally if this has that little affect on him. And that bloodlust. I wonder if the Kyuubi might have something to do with this?'

Naruto just scowled and snorted, sheathing his sword.

"Um, Naruto?" Sakura said uncertainly.

"Hm?" he turned to her, "What's wrong?"

"Are you…" she fumbled for the right words, "okay now?"

Naruto blinked, then smiled. "Oh, did I scare you? Sorry. It's all right, I'm done. I told you though I wouldn't take it easy on you. But I promise not to be so rough next time. Are you okay?"

She just nodded, and hesitantly smiled back.

"You just smile?" Sasuke said, "After all that? What an idiot."

"No one asked you," Naruto argued.

"Hn. If I known we were gonna get a real loser wacko on our team, I would have sent in the request for another before you arrived."

Naruto bristled. 'Grr, he pisses me off. He wasn't so cocky a minute ago when he was under my sword. He is pretty good though, I'll give him that.'

"We're done for today," Kakashi said off-handedly, "You can go home."

He disappeared in a pouf of smoke. Naruto shrugged and turned to Sasuke.

"Well, then, see you guys later," Sakura said, "Ja ne, Sasuke-kun…Naruto."

Sasuke met Naruto's eyes. "What are you staring at, dobe?"

Naruto pouted indignantly and they both turned away, heading home. Naruto huffed.

'He's not cute at all.'

To be continued…


	3. Reflecting, Learning to Cope

Akumade Mo

By: Blade-kun

Disclaimer: Same.

**PLEASE READ!**

A/N: To my reviewers: Thanks for all your wonderful reviews. The story will be mild shounen ai, that's how I've planned it, but it will not dominate the story. Sorry. This account is for my shounen ai fics, but for your sake I'll try to keep it as subtle as possible until absolutely necessary. I don't want it to muck up my story line anymore than you do. To everyone else, pairing is unsure at this time. The conflict with Sound is still around, I'm just not sure how to write it in yet. I apologize to any readers who dislike shounen ai and thus will be disappointed, but since I would hate to force you away, I will emphasize that though this fic is shounen ai, it plays a minor role in the larger plot of the story. In other words, it will only appear in certain cool down points of the story, which you can easily skip through without missing a plot. If you still feel uncomfortable, then this is all I can do, and I'm sorry. I will be writing this to please ALL fans, shounen ai fanatics, there will be enough to keep you happy, straight fans, the same vise versa. I'm trying my hardest for everyone. I hope I will succeed.

On with the story.

* * *

"sigh…"

Naruto stared as he watched the fire consume every bag of memories, including old clothes, items, and other miscellaneous junk. With it, he burned his past here. From now on he was going to treat Konoha like it treated him. Like a stranger. He was going to treat as new territory, as though he had never been here before. After all, Konoha wasn't home. He was just visiting.

He rested his chin on his arms, crouched in front of the bonfire, gripping the black fabric of his t-shirt. He just wanted this mission to be over with. It figured that snaky bastard would stall and waste his time.

"Hey! What the hell are you doing!"

Naruto turned his head ever so slightly to see a group of boys around his age standing a little ways off, staring at him as though he'd lost his mind. He raised an eyebrow.

"'Scuse me?" he said.

The one who'd spoken, a boy with dark hair and red triangles on his face and a dog hovering around his ankles, stepped forward.

"What are you doing?" he repeated, "You can't just start fires in the street!"

"I live here." He pointed to his apartment building.

"That still doesn't explain what you're doing," another boy with a high ponytail and a lazy expression drawled.

Naruto stared at him for a moment before turning back to the fire with a strange expression, eyes lowered. "Burning the past."

They stared at him.

"You said you live here," one with long hair and white eyes spoke up, "Since when? I've never seen you before." He carefully eyed the blonde.

"I've been gone a long time," was the reply.

The dog suddenly barked. The first boy looked down at him, after a few seconds and a few more barks, he turned to Naruto again.

"Did you use to go to the academy?"

"Yes."

"What's your name?"

Naruto glanced at him for a moment, and then at the fire. "Naruto. Uzumaki Naruto."

The boy's eyes widened. "No way! Naruto? It's been forever! Where've you been!"

"Away," the blonde repeated.

"Away where?"

"It doesn't matter."

The boy frowned. "…You're different."

"So you've noticed."

"Do you remember who I am?"

Naruto looked long and hard at him. At all of them.

"Kiba," he said finally, "You're Kiba. That dog…he's Akamaru?" Kiba nodded, "I know you, Shikamaru. But you," his eyes rested on the third, "I don't know you."

"Neji," Shikamaru supplied, "His name's Hyuuga Neji."

Naruto just shrugged. Akamaru came up to him and let out a bark. Naruto glanced at him and scratched his head. "Mutt."

"Naruto," Shikamaru said, "Really. Where have you been? How come you haven't been to the academy in years? How come nobody's seen you in years?"

"You make it sound like somebody actually cared," the blonde answered, not even looking up.

Shikamaru frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Did you care?"

Shikamaru's frown deepened and he shrugged. "I wondered."

Naruto snorted. "You wondered." He sighed, "It's doesn't matter. Did you want something, or was it just my fire that attracted you?"

All three exchanged glances.

"Well, if it's okay with you…do you want to hang out for a little while?"

Naruto looked up and frowned slightly. "What for?"

Kiba shrugged. "Just to talk. Catch up on things. You have been gone a long time."

Naruto glanced at each carefully, thinking, before standing and wiping his hands on his orange shorts.

"Sure. Why not."

* * *

"Gawd, this is boring…" 

Naruto frowned grumpily as he stared at the quiet house of Sasuke Uchiha. The dark-haired boy hadn't moved from his place on the sofa in over an hour. He barely even twitched.

'Maybe I'm approaching this the wrong way,' he thought, 'Maybe instead of watching him in secret, I should do it openly. I need to get to know him anyway. Of course, that would be much easier if he wasn't such an ass.'

Sasuke's body lifted slightly in what Naruto identified as a sigh. Naruto copied him.

'You're boring, Sasuke. At least your brother keeps things entertaining.' He shifted slightly, his legs going all pins and needles from falling asleep. 'I wonder if all you ever do is brood. Itachi does it to, you know. But you do it a lot more. Can't you let go of the past?' He settled back. 'I have.'

Sasuke turned to look out the window and Naruto pressed into the tree. He was already hidden, but better safe than sorry. God knows what would happen if Sasuke saw him in his tree.

'I wish you would at least leave. I want to see it. The house Itachi lived in. The house of his sin. Are there still stains? Surely so much blood couldn't all be washed away.'

Naruto shook his head. God, he was such a freak. Why the hell was he getting excited over Uchiha blood?

'Because Itachi spilled it.'

Naruto wondered briefly if he'd have had the courage to kill his whole family.

Then Sasuke stood and left the room.

'Ch'. Whatever. I'm not sticking around. You're boring as hell when no one's around.'

With one last glance over his shoulder Naruto left, leaving an unaware Uchiha to brood. He sighed as he headed down the street. He had to admit, it was kinda nice seeing Shikamaru again, a familiar face that was not tied to words of scorn or disapproving gazes, a face that was indifferent to the way everyone had treated him, who associated with even when no one else wanted to, especially when it would have been 'less troublesome' not to.

Raising his arms, he rolled his shoulders, hearing the bones crack and pop. Problem was, he had no earthly idea what to do.

'Kyuubi?'

'**_What, kit_**?'

'Would you mind a visit?'

He could almost feel Kyuubi blink. '**_Sure. Why not_**?'

Looking around, Naruto jumped and settled into a tree near his apartment and closed his eyes, letting his soul sink into the deeper recesses of his mind. When he opened his eyes again, he stood before an enormous cage. Kyuubi regarded him with large, frightening eyes before making a clucking sound and was engulfed in a swirl of wind that seemed to sweep his body away, the form shrinking. The wind tightened and formed a smaller shape, solidifying into a human body of flaming red hair and black cloth, two furry ears and nine furry tails attached to it. He brushed back his hair with a clawed hand.

"Finally got bored with that Uchiha spawn, huh?"

"You can say that again. I don't understand how a person can just sit there totally silent and not do anything for hours. I can only do that when I'm asleep."

"Hn," Kyuubi grinned, "Yes, we all know how hard it is for you to sit still."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Two tan arms suddenly shot through the bars and grabbed Naruto by the wrists, yanking him closer to the bars. Naruto's eyes snapped wide in surprise at the sudden movement.

"I don't think it's as hard as you say. I've seen you sit by the window for hours without moving, so it can't be that hard."

Naruto frowned a little. "That's different."

"What's so different about it?" Kyuubi almost purred, drawing Naruto closer.

Naruto honestly couldn't think of anything to say.

"I thought so." Ears twitching, Kyuubi leaned his head forward, touching brows with Naruto and grinning.

"Shut up."

"You could just stay down here with me. The outside world is such a pain of the ass."

"Says the fox who spent half my life ramming against the cage bars trying to get out, and the other half trying to convince me of reasons to let him out," Naruto replied, raising an eyebrow.

"Which you don't do nearly enough. Can't help it if it's lonely down here."

Naruto's breath hitched as the words struck a chord.

"Yes, you know how _that_ feels, don't you?"

"Don't bring that up," Naruto said, trying to pull away.

"So eager to get away from me?" Kyuubi tightened his grip, eyes half-lowered as he smiled eerily at Naruto.

Naruto growled tiredly. "Damn fox."

He sank to his knees in front of the bars, leaning against them and once again touching foreheads with Kyuubi. The demon fox slipped his tails through and wrapped them and his arms around Naruto, pulling him into a half hug. Naruto leaned into it as best he could with the bars in the way.

"Feel better?"

Naruto 'hm'ed in response.

Kyuubi chuckled. "Just relax kit, and imagine us feasting on snake flesh in the near future."

* * *

"Naruto. Naruto! NARUTO!" 

"ACK!"

Naruto jumped awake with a startled cry and proceeded to fall out of the tree. A loud 'thud' was heard as he hit the ground and he groaned.

"What the HELL!" he growled, glaring up at the offender.

Kakashi was perched on the branch, peering down at him.

"Maa, maa. Sorry about that."

"Mou…" Naruto growled, sitting up and rubbing his head before glaring again at the other, "Did you need something?" he ground out.

"Not really," was the reply, "I was just passing by and saw you. Though since I'm here, and you're here, I may as well tell you that we've confirmed your participation and success in the Chuunin Exams."

He rolled his eyes. "That's great."

Kakashi raised an eyebrow before hopping down. "I heard you ran into Iruka the other day."

Naruto stood and brushed himself off. "That's an interesting way to put it. I would have called it 'trespassing'. Or even 'breaking and entry'."

Kakashi chuckled. "I suppose. Have you seen anyone else you knew?"

Naruto glanced at him. "I ran into some old classmates, I guess. Does it matter?"

"Just wondering."

Naruto gazed at him suspiciously, but found nothing but genuine curiosity. He shrugged it off.

"Well, as much as I'm loving this conversation, I have things to do and I'm sure you do to. See ya later, sensei."

He waved shortly and walked off.

'Whew. That was a close one. I didn't realize I went that deep.'

'**_You didn't. He's just that good_**.'

'I wish he'd have just kept on his way. He scared the shit out of me.'

'**_Well they say that which you don't want to be known should be done in the comfort of your own home_**.'

'I guess it doesn't matter. I wish time would hurry up though. I want to see Itachi. At least then I'll have someone I can talk to.'

'**_Gee, I'm ecstatic to learn I don't count_**.'

'You know I didn't mean it like that.'

'**_Do I?_**'

'Yes, you do.'

Kyuubi made a low grumble in the back of his mind. Naruto rolled his eyes.

'Maybe if you weren't so annoying I'd acknowledge you.'

'**_Kuso gaki_**.'

Naruto sighed long and hard. 'God, this pretending thing is harder than I thought.'

He could almost feel the fox raise an eyebrow. '**_You're doing a pretty good job to me_**.'

'That's not what's hard,' Naruto explained, 'It's not pretending itself. It's that I'm sick of pretending. I just want to do my job, and instead I really have to…live here.'

'**_You'll just have to make the best of it, kit. I know how much of a shithole Konoha can be, believe me_**.'

'Yeah, I know to. But it doesn't help.'

Kyuubi just 'hn'ed in response.

Naruto felt the fox settle and sighed.

'When will this nightmare be over?'

* * *

Shikamaru was a smart person. 

No, really, he was. But even for as smart as he was, he couldn't for the life of him figure it out.

"Shikamaru? What are you doing?"

The ponytailed boy looked up. "Oh, hi Dad."

His father gave out a small sigh. "Don't you have missions you should be doing?"

Instead of answering, he sat up.

"Hey, Dad? Do you remember a kid named Uzumaki Naruto?"

The elder looked confused. "Yeah. What about him?"

"What happened to him?"

The confusion deepened. "What brought this up?"

Shikamaru shrugged. "Just answer."

His dad frowned and took a seat beside him. "Well, no one knows for sure. He just disappeared one day. A lot of people sadly, were overjoyed," the elder Nara looked a little thoughtful and sad, "Poor kid. It wasn't his fault. I can't imagine how he must of felt, having no one who cared about him."

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

Suddenly his father looked startled. "Er, nevermind. Anyway, what do you remember about Naruto?"

Shikamaru shrugged again. "Not much really. Just that no one liked him and he didn't have any parents. I remember that me, Chouji, and Kiba played with him a few times though. We mostly just got into trouble."

"I see."

Shikamaru thought for a second. "Naruto doesn't have any parents. What happened to them? Are they dead?"

"Honestly, I don't know. No one does. The origin of Uzumaki Naruto is a mystery. He may as well have just popped out of thin air."

More thinking. "Do you think they were killed by the demon fox that attacked 14 years ago?"

"It's possible."

"But no one knows for sure."

"Nope."

Frustration.

His dad sighed and stood. "Well, I have things to do."

With that he left Shikamaru to his thoughts. Said boy plopped onto his back, arms cushioned behind his head.

So basically, Naruto had popped out of nowhere, was hated for no reason, vanished, and then come back. Which left just about every detail about him unknown.

'I guess that means Naruto's what could be commonly known as…an enigma.'

* * *

"Oi! Naruto!" 

A groan fluttered up from under a mass of comforters, spikes of golden hair peeking out. The figure attached to them mumbled and rolled over, hiding his eyes from the sun.

"Naruto! Naruto!"

Kiba growled slightly and rubbed his head. "Dammit. Why won't he answer the stupid door?"

Shikamaru shrugged. "Maybe he's not here."

Kiba glanced back at him, then down at Akamaru, who barked.

"No, he's here. Akamaru can smell him."

"So, he's just ignoring us then?"

The thought of it made Kiba growl, and turning, redouble his efforts.

"Oi, Naruto!" he shouted, rattling the door as he pounded on it, "Get your ass over here and open this damn door. OI!"

'**_They ain't leaving, kit._**'

"God dammit," Naruto growled.

'**_Just give it up and go answer them so they'll stop making all that damn noise._**'

Naruto mumbled curses under his breath as he rolled out of bed.

"OI!"

Kiba brought down his fist to pound again and halted when the door was yanked open, revealing a rather disgruntled Naruto.

"Mo urusei," he said, yawning and rubbing his eyes, "What do you want? Didn't anyone teach you it's rude to bang on peoples' doors when they're sleeping?"

"Ah, so you're finally up!" Kiba said, grinning.

Naruto frowned sleepily, cocking his head to one side. "Nani?"

"It's really your fault anyway, you know. If you'd answered the door the first time, we wouldn't have continued."

Naruto tensed. 'Kyuubi…want we should make a meal out these guys?'

"Why are you still sleeping anyway? It's way past breakfast time! You're such a bum," Kiba shrugged, pulling on a dramatic face, "We two kindly beings came here with the intent of hanging out, showing you around town, and possibly treating you to lunch, and you greet us with a scowl like we're lowly bugs. How can you be so cruel?"

'Ko…Kono yatsu…!'

'**_Calm down, kit._**'

"Come on, come on, the day's a wastin'!"

"Teme!" Naruto growled, "You made all that racket just so you drag me out here and piss me off!"

"Piss you off?" Kiba blinked, "That wasn't my intent at all. You're delusional. Now hurry and get dressed so we can leave."

"Who said I was going!" Naruto snapped.

"Aw, come on. What else do you have to do? Besides, if you come with, I'll treat you to ramen myself."

Naruto growled. Kiba had caught him there. "Bastard. Why do you want me to come so badly anyway?"

Kiba paused, staring at him. Then he looked away.

"Well," he said, scratching his face, "I…I just thought…that we could be friends like before. I," he paused, "I missed ya, I guess. So I figured we could just…pick up where we left off."

Blink. Blink blink.

"Well, maybe not exactly where we left off, I mean, you don't need to go back to the academy obviously and uh…"

Naruto was speechless. Absolutely speechless. Kiba had…missed him?

"_Ever since you were taken…I…I come here after school. At first I thought you'd be recovered soon, but it never happened. And…well…I missed you, I guess…so I started coming here. I guess I eventually started imagining that one day you'd be here, just like before…_"

'Itachi…these people…Things really aren't turning out as I thought.'

He was…touched.

Sighing, Naruto rubbed his head. "Alright."

Kiba grinned and grabbed Naruto in a headlock. "Heh. I knew you couldn't resist."

"Let go!" Naruto growled, but it was only half-hearted.

After Kiba released him, he trudged back to his room, pulling on a short sleeve fishnet shirt and a black tank top over it, as well as his usual orange shorts. H put on his shoes and ran a hand through his hair before catching sight of himself in the mirror, and then turning to stare at it.

He didn't recognize himself.

Was that him? That unsure looking 14 year old boy, staring back at him with an expression of wonder, and a hint of insecurity for what the future held? What had become of the Akatsuki's killing pet, with its hard eyes and bloodlusting expression, who proudly wore the coat of death he had come to adore? Had it been replaced by this person, this…boy?

Hell, he seemed almost…human.

'From monster to man. Itachi would laugh at me.'

'**_You can only be so much, kit._**'

And for the first time in his life he felt…afraid.

Afraid of the future. Afraid of the _change_.

And then a voice broke him from his thoughts.

"Oi, Naruto! What's taking so long? You die in there or something?"

"Shut up!" Naruto called back, "I'm coming."

He tore his eyes from the mirror and turned away. His eyes wondered once more of his surroundings, his room.

This…this was home now. Whether he wanted to accept it or not.

At least until that snake bastard showed up.

"Naruto!"

"I'm coming, I'm coming! Geez."

He ran out to meet them, locking his door and following them as they headed down the street.

'This is it, Itachi, This is where it all begins.'

* * *

To be continued… 

ALRIGHT! It's finished! It's revised! Aren't you happy? You're getting more! The more that you deserve! takes a deep breath Okay now, I'm ready. This has been a long time coming, so anyone who wants to take a shot, or just feels frustrated, I'm ready for the flames.


	4. The Hard Part, Getting to Know You

Akumade Mo  
By: Blade-kun

Disclaimer: Same.

**GO BACK AND READ THE THIRD CHAPTER AGAIN IF YOU HAVEN'T ALREADY! I HAVE REVISED IT RECENTLY AND FINISHED IT! AS I HAD PREVIOUSLY STATED IT HAD DIED, I FINALLY FOUND A WAY TO END IT, SO READ IT**!

A/N: Hate me. Go ahead, hate me. Hate me for taking too long, for killing you with suspense. Hate me for the many hours, days, weeks you might have spent checking this fic for updates and not finding any. Hate me. I deserve it. But at long last, it's finally here, for those who still remain.

* * *

Naruto heaved a soft sigh as he leaned back against the bridge railing. The others had yet to arrive. He was bored. 

'I guess it's my fault. I did get here an hour early. But I didn't have anything better to do.' He rubbed his head. 'Wonder if we'll get to spare like last time.'

'**_We could train, you know_**.'

Naruto snorted. 'Because that wouldn't be suspicious.'

'**_Just making a suggestion. Besides, what do you know about boredom? I'm the one stuck in this damn cage 24/7. I never get to do anything fun_**.' Kyuubi sighed. '**_What I wouldn't give to go on a rampage, cause a little chaos and mayhem._**'

'You're easy to please,' Naruto thought sarcastically.

'**_Don't talk. You know it's fun_**.'

'I admit nothing.'

'**_You don't have to. I know you, after all_**.'

Naruto scowled. 'Damn fox.'

"Naruto?"

'Hide!' "Huh? Oh, Sakura-chan," Naruto waved in greeting.

"What are you doing here so early?"

Naruto shrugged. "Nothing else to do."

"Oh," Sakura flipped back her hair, "Well, you're wasting your time. Kakashi-sensei is always late. We usually wait two hours for him to show up."

"Really?" Naruto blinked, then grinned. "Cool! Maybe we can have another friendly fight while we wait."

Sakura paled. Naruto noticed.

"Oh. No go?"

"I'll fight you."

Both turned their heads to see the one and only Uchiha Sasuke standing there, watching them. Naruto internally bristled, but outwardly grinned.

"You don't mind getting your ass kicked by me again?"

Sasuke growled. "I won't lose to the likes of you."

"The likes of me? What, am I below you?"

Sasuke snorted.

Naruto shrugged. "All right, let's go. Any preferences?"

Sasuke glanced at him. "No weapons."

"Done." Naruto undid his sword from his back and dropped it on the ground, then proceeded to remove all his kunai and shurikens. Sasuke did the same.

"Where?"

Sasuke pointed behind him. "There. The forest."

Naruto glanced back and nodded. "All right."

"Ano, Sasuke-kun…" Sakura started.

"We won't take long."

Naruto turned to Sakura. "Don't worry, Sakura-chan. You stay here. We'll be back."

Sasuke simply turned and lead the way. Naruto followed.

"Do you have something against me?"

Sasuke blinked and glanced back. "What do you mean?"

"Exactly what I said."

Sasuke snorted and turned away. "Why would I?"

"Well, you've been a real ass to me since we first met, and I just want to know what warranted it."

Sasuke paused.

Naruto stopped as well and watched him curiously.

"…Nothing," Sasuke said finally. "You did nothing."

"Then why?"

Sasuke didn't answer.

Naruto sighed. "Would you like to start over?"

Sasuke looked back at him curiously. Naruto walked around so he was in front of Sasuke.

"Here," he said sticking out his hand, "Let's try this again. I'm Uzumaki Naruto."

Sasuke stared at his hand for a brief moment before slowly taking it.

"…Uchiha Sasuke."

Naruto grinned. "Good. I know forget everything that happened before."

He hopped back a few steps and fell into a fighting stance.

"Pleased to meet you," Naruto smirked, cracking his knuckles, "Now, Sasuke…shall we fight?"

Sasuke was silent for a moment before doing the same, smirking.

"You're on."

* * *

"Oi, I'm here!" 

"YOU'RE LATE!"

Kakashi sweatdropped, then blinked. "Hm?" he glanced around, "Where are Naruto and Sasuke?"

Sakura frowned a little. "They're in the forest. They wanted to spare."

Kakashi nodded. "I see," he closed his book, "Shall we go get them?"

Sakura just nodded.

The forest was now a worn battlefield. Fallen trees lie in disarray, broken and scorched earth upturned every here and there. And lying on its floor were two fighters.

"You're much better than I thought," Naruto said, from where he lay grinning, "That's a relief."

Sasuke frowned. "Why's that?"

Naruto quickly covered his slipped and shrugged. "I haven't had much fun in a fight. It was all business. I like a challenge."

Sasuke snorted, "I guess you're not half-bad either," he paused, "Kakashi said you used to live in Konoha. Where were you until now?"

Naruto also paused. "Away. Far away."

Sasuke of course was less than satisfied, but refrained from further questions. There was something in Naruto's tone of voice that brooked no arguments, and requested no prying. So Sasuke didn't. After all, he hadn't really answered Naruto earlier, had he?

"It wasn't so bad," Naruto then said, filling the awkward silence, "but as you can probably tell, it did have something of an influence on my…personality."

Sasuke frowned. "Was it hard?"

"Hard as hell sometimes," Naruto said quietly, "Ridiculously easy other times. And then there were the other things."

He wished Naruto would stop speaking so vaguely. It was annoying. "Like what?"

Naruto grinned malevolently. "Like torture."

Sasuke didn't ask. He just…didn't ask.

"What about you?" Naruto asked, rolling over.

Sasuke was quiet for a moment, thinking. "It doesn't matter."

Naruto frowned. "That's not fair. I told you something. It wasn't much, but still. You have to tell me something too."

Sasuke snorted. "Like what?"

"Well, do you have any goals? Anything you want to do?"

Sasuke was silent.

"Well?"

More silence. Then, "All I want…is to kill a certain man."

"Kill someone?" Outwardly Naruto was calm, but inwardly he was brimming with anxious anticipation, "Who?"

Sasuke closed his eyes.

"The man that ruined by life."

Naruto swallowed thickly and silently. He knew. Of course he knew. How couldn't he know?

'Itachi.'

It almost hurt.

"I see."

Sasuke glanced over at Naruto, who appeared thoughtful. He opened his mouth to ask another question when—

"Naruto! Sasuke!"

"Sasuke-kun!"

Both blinked and turned to each other.

"Kakashi."

"Sakura."

Both sighed.

Sitting up, they dusted themselves off before Naruto called, "Oi, over here!"

Seconds later the two appeared. Kakashi gazed over them, inspecting them.

"I heard you were fighting," he said airily.

"Training," Naruto corrected, grinning, "And quite effectively. But we're done."

Kakashi shrugged. "Shall we go then?"

Naruto glanced back at Sasuke and smiled.

"Yeah."

* * *

For Uzumaki Naruto, the first feeling he had when he woke up in the morning determined whether he would have a good day or a bad day. If he woke up feeling light, it would be a good day. If he woke up feeling restless and grouchy, it was a bad day. If he woke up blah, it was a blah day. And if he woke up feeling like shit, he was probably sick. 

So today was…definitely not a good day.

Which was overall strange because there was no reason today should be a bad day.

After all, today he was meeting Itachi.

And yet Naruto was feeling anxious. During his short stay in Konoha, if there'd ever been a moment he'd heard Itachi's name, it was filled with contempt. Not so much as his own, but still.

The hours until sundown had to be the longest hours of his life. Kyuubi was thoroughly irritated by his restless pacing and going about. Naruto simply argued he had every right to be antsy if he damn well felt like it.

"_I'll meet you there every week on the last day at sundown. Until then, just be on the lookout."_

For the first time in his life, Naruto was truly worried. There was so much that could go wrong. He could be spotted, followed, Itachi could be found…A number of things of the sort tumbled around in his head until he felt like he was going to have a nervous breakdown if it didn't stop soon. Kyuubi sent him reassurance in order to calm him, and it helped.

By the time the appointed time came, Naruto and Kyuubi were both about to go nuts. Hurriedly, but carefully, Naruto locked up and headed out. Konoha was quiet, but Naruto made doubly sure not to be seen, not to be sensed, and not to be followed.

He ran as if his life depended on it as soon as he knew he was clear. Reaching the spot he'd memorized a week earlier, he climbed up a tree just as the first rays of sun started to disappear, and waited to be found.

He didn't have to wait long.

For Naruto, the few minutes seemed to go on forever when suddenly a hand he would know anywhere tapped his shoulder, and quick as lightning he was up and threw his arms around Itachi, hugging him fiercely. Itachi was actually surprised, but returned the hug.

After a minute he spoke. "Naruto?"

Naruto just shook his head and buried his face deeper in Itachi's coat.

Itachi frowned a little, sensing the turbulence in Naruto and practically able to feel his erratic heartbeat through tense muscles.

"Naruto?" he repeated.

At last Naruto pulled back and Itachi was able to see his face. He looked stressed to say the least. Itachi looked him up and down. No wounds, no problems. He looked fine. He just didn't seem fine, which left Itachi a tad confused.

"Did you miss me that much?" he said, trying to lighten the mood.

Naruto frowned and sighed. "Remember that anxiety thing you told me about a long time ago? Well I think I finally understand what it is."

Itachi raised an eyebrow. "Is that so?"

"Yeah, that's so."

Itachi merely closed his eyes.

A few minutes later Naruto was once again seated on the branch, Itachi leaning against the trunk, and both staring out at the sunset.

"What do you have to report?" Itachi asked.

"Not a damn thing," Naruto snorted, "Your brother's cute though, in that really grating and irritating way, just like you. My compliments to whoever raised him."

Itachi rolled his eyes ever so slightly at the sarcasm dripping from the statement.

"If he's as bad as you say…"

"Oh, he's worse than that," Naruto almost snapped, "But he has his good points too. He's just a prick first, and a person second."

"But that's not what I want to know," Itachi said, straightening a little, "Can he fight?"

Naruto glanced back at him. "Yeah, he can fight. Fairly well, I might add."

"If need should arise, could he hold off Orochimaru if you would require time to reach him?"

Naruto watched him for a moment before turning toward the sunset. "Well, I haven't seen all of what he can do, but for now, I'd have to say no."

"How long?"

"Five, maybe ten minutes, if he has some nifty tricks I have yet to see."

"That should be plenty of time for you I should think."

"It would depend," Naruto replied, "It would depend on how close I was, how aware I was of the situation, and how equipped I would be to handle it."

"It's still not too bad."

"No," Naruto agreed, "But it's not too good either."

Itachi sighed a little. "How's Kyuubi?"

"As obnoxious as always," Naruto said, listening to a menacing growl in the back of his mind, "He says hi."

"I've been taking care of your coat."

Naruto grinned. "Have you now? Nice to know you can do something right."

Itachi cracked the barest of smiles.

"What's the organization been up to?"

"The same as always. Looking for means of powers, and seeking the Jinchuuriki."

Naruto placed a hand on his stomach. "I see."

"I won't let them have you, Naruto," Itachi said, "Kyuubi already serves them in a sense. They will not have you."

Naruto gave Itachi a small smile of gratitude. "Thanks."

Itachi stood and easily swept Naruto into his lap, taking Naruto's seat. Naruto settled back against him and breathed deeply in relief.

"I don't like this. I hate this place. It gives me all these weird feelings that I've never felt before, not even when I was looking death in the face. It's driving me crazy."

"It won't be forever Naruto. Orochimaru won't stay away for long. Just stay safe, and protect Sasuke. That's all you have to do."

As Naruto relished the warmth of being in Itachi's embrace, he contemplated his words.

'_Somehow, I don't think it will be as easy as that_…'

* * *

Okay, Naruto was now getting annoyed. 

After meeting with Itachi last night and spilling all the news, he suddenly found himself, well, in an 'argh' mood. What the fuck was Orochimaru _doing_? Naruto was getting tired of waiting for him to stop screwing around and just attack already so Naruto could get a chance to pound his fork-tongued face in. He just wanted to…to…rip his hair out or something!

Well, in any case, he was accomplishing anything just sitting around getting mad about it. But what were his options? He could always tail Sasuke, he supposed. And there were still dozens of things to do in the village. The question was, did he have the patience to deal with either of those two options right now?

Suddenly he grinned.

'Kyuubi…' he almost purred, 'Would you like to come out and play?'

He could feel the answering smirk and purr of pleasure as energy began to drip from his body and meld into a solid form. It quickly shaped a frame and head, energy snaking off the back to form nine long and luxurious tails. The head was topped with two perfect furry ears and soon glowing red eyes peered out at him from under honey tipped bangs.

"I thought you'd never ask."

* * *

Sasuke was bored. 

He couldn't remember being this bored. Never in his life, well, at least not since that time, had he ever felt bored reminiscing in his house. But today he was restless, in a way he hadn't been in a long time.

Strangely, he'd felt this way for a while. But why? What caused it? What was different now than before?

…Besides Naruto, that is.

Sasuke shook his head furiously. Naruto? The reason? It was stupid. It was impossible!

And yet…it made sense.

Sasuke didn't know why, but it almost felt like the other boy…understood him.

Not that that was saying much. After all, what did he know about Naruto? The boy was a mystery, a lost piece of the past intent on corrupting the present. Where he'd been, what he'd done, he knew nothing of. He wanted to say he didn't care, because part of him didn't, but at the same time, he was deathly curious.

He still remembered the blonde during their first meeting, when they'd fought. Those…eyes, those eyes that screamed and promised the worst pain imaginable, the endless depthless eyes deprived of mercy, compassion…empty.

He never wanted to see those eyes again.

He hated being afraid. Hated it more than anything. But he couldn't help but be afraid then. And that annoyed him to no end. Now he could find nothing to fear about Naruto, the blonde was pretty careless for the most part, a little snappish and rather sarcastic. Naruto was a normal, well, somewhat normal person.

But he couldn't forget those eyes.

Probably the thing that surprised him the most was that he wanted to know what happened to Naruto. He wanted to know what had given him those eyes.

Speaking of which, he wondered what the blonde was up to.

…It couldn't hurt to check. Maybe they could even get in a good spar.

Yeah, that sounded good.

* * *

"Ready?" 

The two stood on the very outskirts of Konoha, in a small clearing of the otherwise dense forest. Kyuubi stood in all his glory, dressed in a tight black turtleneck tank top and loose pants, a red sash tied around his waist, along with long black fingerless gloves. He smiled wickedly at the younger, red hair flying everywhere.

Naruto grinned, falling back into a stance. "I can't wait."

Kyuubi rushed forward, disappearing. Naruto felt him out and whipped around, catching the punch aimed at his face. Kyuubi smiled and brought around a kick. Naruto held up an arm to guard, taking the brunt of the kick, before pulling on Kyuubi's arm and leaping over him, grabbing a nearby branch and swinging himself up. Kyuubi was right behind him, slashing the branch clean off the tree. Naruto flipped over his head in the knick of time and ran.

Kyuubi chuckled. "You can't escape me, kit."

"I can try!" was the reply.

Kyuubi smirked and took off after him. He had lost sight of the other, but could easily smell his direction. Naruto had a habit of zigzagging when they fought to throw his scent off, but it was only good enough to stall. Kyuubi slowed to a halt eventually and grinned.

Suddenly he threw his arm up and a blast of red energy blew off a chunk of a tree. A cry followed and Naruto came tumbling down, recovering in time enough to catch himself on a lower branch, but rather than fleeing like Kyuubi was expecting, he swung around and launched himself at the fox, taking the other by surprise. Kyuubi brought up his arms and blocked the punch.

Naruto used the momentum to flip over him, but before he could actually get anyway, as soon as he hit the ground, one of Kyuubi's tails shot out and grabbed him around the waist, wrapping firmly around him before swinging around and flinging him hard in a tree. Naruto let out a small yelp of pain at the sharp impact. But knowing that Kyuubi never paused during a fight saved him an eye as he moved just in time to have Kyuubi's claws embed themselves in the wood next to his head rather than in his face.

Pressing up against the tree, he flipped up and kicked Kyuubi square in the chin, sending the fox sprawling back as he planted his feet against the trunk again and crouched before heading up.

Kyuubi managed to land on his feet, spitting out a mouthful of blood and launching himself up at the blonde. Naruto, unable to dodge, quickly found himself pinned to the tree. Kyuubi's battle furious eyes glared at him for a moment before he threw his head back, mouth open, and then clamped down viciously on Naruto's shoulder. Naruto gave a howl of pain.

Kyuubi only bit harder, blooding pouring from the wound as he lapped it up. Naruto struggled wildly, managing to push Kyuubi back just enough so that he could bring up his leg and kick the other off. Kyuubi's teeth ripped free from his shoulder, enticing another cry of pain from Naruto before the blonde bashed him in the face and sent him back.

With the fox no longer holding him to the tree, he fell to the ground, barely managing to land on his feet before grabbing his shoulder, hissing in agony.

Kyuubi stood, wiping the blood from his mouth before approaching Naruto. The other glared at him.

"That was dirty."

Kyuubi shrugged. "I felt hungry."

Naruto glared darkly at him as he nursed his torn shoulder.

Kyuubi suddenly smiled and leaned down, grabbing Naruto's good arm.

"What are you--!"

Before Naruto could finish, Kyuubi ran his tongue roughly over the wound. Naruto winced, hissing.

"Stupid fox, let go!" he growled.

Kyuubi ignored him, licking the wound harshly. Naruto just knew he was enjoying it.

"I said knock it off!" the other snarled, pushing the fox.

Kyuubi gave one last hard lick before allowing himself to be pushed back. He licked his lips with a wicked smile.

"Did I ever tell you how good your blood tastes?"

"Fucking fox!" Naruto hissed.

Kyuubi chuckled lowly, enjoying the agitated look on Naruto's face. "You let your guard down, kit."

"That was cheap, and you know it!"

"No it wasn't," he said, "It's not like it's the first time I bit you."

"One of these days I'm gonna return the favor, and see how YOU like it!"

He chuckled. "Sure kit. It wasn't bad, though. Two hits, three, in such a short time. You're getting better."

"Don't trying to get out of this by complimenting me!"

Kyuubi sighed. "Quit whining and look at your shoulder."

Naruto glared, but looked down to see the flesh slowly knitting itself back together.

"Am I forgiven?"

Naruto glanced at him before turning back to the wound. "I'll think about it."

The other sighed again and cracked his shoulders, stretching. "Well, let's continue. We're not nearly done yet."

"Not more biting!" Naruto said.

"Fine. No more biting."

And they resumed.

* * *

Sasuke suppressed the urge to groan. Where the hell was Naruto? He been looking for an hour, and had found neither hide nor hair of that dumb blonde. 

Even after spreading his chakra senses Naruto was still outside his range. He'd walked around the whole village not picking up a trace. Thus, he'd finally come to the conclusion that Naruto was not in the village.

Then where?

Turning, he looked out toward the forest. Could Naruto be out there somewhere?

It was impossible. Sasuke himself had gone there plenty of times to train. Maybe Naruto just had the same idea. It would certainly explain his disappearance, and if he was, he would be outside Sasuke's range.

Well, he might as well check. It wasn't like he hadn't looked everywhere else.

Setting himself, he took off towards the forest.

It didn't take him long to get there, and he began searching for the blonde's chakra.

Naruto, he decided, was very adept at hiding when others wanted him to be found.

Pausing for a quick second, Sasuke wondered why he was even bothering to go through the trouble.

…It was a challenge. Yeah, that was it.

Naruto was being really damn hard to find, so Sasuke would search until he did. And damn it, he would.

Effort renewed, he picked up the pace.

'Curse you, Naruto. Where are you?

Elsewhere…

Naruto breathed a long sigh as he leaned against a tree.

"What's the matter, kit? Tired already?"

Naruto glared at Kyuubi, who was grinning smugly. "No," he snapped, "Just catching my breath."

"It'll be all you catch at this rate."

"Shut up."

He glanced irritably at the fox. The other was sporting a split lip (Naruto was proud of that one), various bruises on his shoulders and forearms from blocking Naruto's hits, and a few scrapes and cuts here and there. If there were any other injuries, they were hidden by cloth.

Naruto though was by far the worse off. Sporting a large bite mark on his left shoulder, he was covered in bruises all over, as well as multiple cuts and scratches from Kyuubi's claws. All of which were healing, as well as Kyuubi's.

Kyuubi lifted a hand to his lips and gingerly licked a scratch, which disappeared instantly.

Naruto scoffed and stood straight, falling into a stance. "Let's continue."

"If you wi--" Kyuubi suddenly cut himself off, head snapping to the side, "Someone's coming."

"Huh?" Naruto was suddenly on alert, spreading his senses, "I don't--"

"Wait a second. He's outside our chakra range right now. But I can smell him."

Naruto paused, concentrating. Suddenly, a blimp of chakra moved on the very edge of his range, and then it came in.

Wait a sec. That chakra felt familiar…

Naruto's eyes snapped open. "Ah, shit, it's Sasuke!"

Kyuubi raised an eyebrow. "The younger Uchiha spawn? What's he doing here?"

"I don't know!" Naruto growled. He could feel Sasuke's chakra pause, as though realizing something, before heading in his direction. "Damn it, I think he's looking for me. And he just found me."

Kyuubi scowled. "Damn brat. And I was just starting to have fun."

"Well, too bad, now get back inside before he senses you too!"

Kyuubi sighed, looking quite irritated. "Fine."

His form slowly melted away, before dissipating into a gust of wind. He circled Naruto's body once, brushing against his skin, before moving to his stomach and disappearing into the seal. Naruto blinked and looked down at his arms. The bruises were healed.

'Well, damn.'

Sighing, Naruto brushed himself off and turned. Sasuke was indeed getting closer. Well, if he was going to explain this, he may as well start appearing a part. He quickly fell back into training.

That was how Sasuke found him. He came to a halt when he could hear the sounds of someone going at it. He was about to shout, but held it back in favor of taking a look.

Naruto was flinging himself all over the place with that strange animal grace of his. His strokes were hard and fast, ripping into the ground and trunks of trees. He looked rather…wild.

Sasuke couldn't help but raise an eyebrow, then his face set into a scowl. He'd been looking for Naruto for hours, and the blonde had been here the whole time. Dammit, when he wanted to find someone, they should let themselves be found! Stupid Naruto, always pissing him off.

"Naruto!"

Naruto skidded to a halt and blinked over his shoulder, inclining his head towards the trees.

"Sasuke?"

The other's scowl deepened and he jumped down to ground level. Naruto straightened himself and turned to face him.

"What are you doing here?"

Sasuke opened his mouth to argue, to shout, to chew him out, then abruptly shut it with a 'click'.

…What the hell was he supposed to say? 'God damn you, Naruto, I've been looking everywhere for you and you couldn't have the decency to be around?'?

…Oh no. Don't say that. Too many questions, don't want the _questions_. Just. Shut. Up.

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "Well?"

Sasuke just shrugged, a disinterested look settling on his face. "Nothing."

Naruto looked confused.

Sasuke spared him a glance. "What are you doing?"

Naruto blinked and looked around. "Oh. I was training."

Sasuke eyes followed Naruto's path, then landed back on him. He opened his mouth to say something, then suddenly frowned.

"Is that a bite mark on your shoulder?"

Naruto was not a person to be taken by surprise. It just didn't happen. However, since he'd come to Konoha, it seemed to be happening far too often for his taste.

He looked absolutely startled as his hand shot up to grab his shoulder. Fucking, FUCKING Kyuubi!

"Er, yeah. I, uh, ran into an animal earlier."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "And you let it bite you?"

Naruto was adamantly demonstrating his multi-tasked mind, one half of it flinging every dirty and insulting curse he knew at Kyuubi in increasing volume as he chewed out the fox while partially bitching at himself for forgetting to cover it up, and the other half was quickly working up an excuse to feed Sasuke.

Outwardly, he sighed. "It's my fault. I was so caught up in training I kinda barreled into it and, well, pissed it off. It lashed out before I really thought about it."

Sasuke looked interested, yet confused. "What kind of animal was it?"

"A fox," Naruto growled, "Should tracked the fucker down and burned its home."

Sasuke was a bit surprised by the venom in the other's voice. "You have something against foxes?"

"You could say that," was the answer as Naruto completely ignored Kyuubi's growling disagreement.

Sasuke smirked. "Clutz."

Naruto glared at him. "Shut up."

His smirk only widened. He looked around again before saying, "Want to spar with me?"

Naruto deflated almost instantly and blinked. "Huh?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Train?"

Naruto blinked again before it sank in. "Oh! Sure."

He couldn't help but think, 'Sasuke really isn't such a bad guy after all.'

And a certain fox only sat within him, cursing them to fall off a cliff.

* * *

Naruto slammed open the door of his apartment with a force that rattled the walls, and then when he slammed it shut. He threw his sword at the wall in a fit of anger, followed by the rest of his things. Then he threw the couch cushions for good measure before slamming his fist against the wall with a loud growl. 

Why was he in such a foul mood? Well, the mission Kakashi had given them, though stupid, hadn't been that bad, and he had tried to connect with Sasuke a bit more afterwards, stopping by Ichiraku in the process. But those things weren't what had soiled his day. It was his earlier realization brought into new light that now blinded him with unreasonable (or reasonable, depending on how you looked at it) fury.

**-Flashback-**

"Oi, Sasuke!"

Sasuke opened his eyes from where he leaned leisurely against the side of a building to glance over at Naruto, who was quickly making his way over. In the week since the incident in the forest he and Naruto had come to know and understand each other better. They were often found in each other's company, and the only time they didn't spend fighting they spent each eating of talking.

Today was eating.

Naruto gave him a wicked grin as he stopped next to him.

"Sasuke…" he cooed.

Sasuke suppressed the urge. "I know," he growled, "Ramen."

"A win's a win, Sasuke."

Sasuke merely growled low in his throat. Another thing they'd pick up on doing was betting in order to decide who chose where they ate. The bets could be on anything, and often they fought in various ways to try to emerge victorious and stake their claim on lunch.

Unfortunately for Sasuke, Naruto seemed to be blessed with the devil's luck.

At least 60 of the time Naruto won at whatever they were doing, though Sasuke loathed to admit it. He was not used to losing to anyone. But then it was only really fair when they fought one-on-one. When they competed through anything other the physical fighting, Naruto usually had the upper hand. Sasuke was not all that skilled in some of the games and methods Naruto seemed experienced in. Still, he had given his word, and he would keep it.

Naruto was trotting along ahead of him whistling, that damned cocky grin still stuck to his face, much to Sasuke's distaste. It just…wasn't fair. Why couldn't they just always fight to decide who picked lunch?

It didn't take them long to reach Ichiraku Ramen, which Sasuke had quickly learned was Naruto's otherwise favorite place in the world. Naruto lifted the flap and waved a hand a Sasuke to go first, an almost condescending smirk on his face. Sasuke suppressed yet another growl, and as he walked by elbowed Naruto fiercely in the gut before calmly sitting down. Needless to say Naruto didn't appreciate the gesture, as he gasped and grabbed his stomach, cursing Sasuke with whatever breath he still had. But then, neither had Sasuke.

After Naruto recovered, he sat as well and shot Sasuke a scathing glare before waving to the cook.

"Oi, oji-san! One miso ramen please!"

The man smiled and nodded, glancing at Sasuke.

Sasuke sighed. "The same."

Naruto practically drooled in anticipation. Sasuke found it hard to relate this Naruto with the battle-hungry one that seemed to emerge when they fought. How could someone with such cold, hardened eyes change so suddenly into this only happy-go-lucky, ramen-obsessed blonde that currently sat next to him? If he didn't know better, he would almost think Naruto had a split personality.

Little did he know that Naruto was also surprised with the change that had come over him since he'd come here. For some reason, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't seem to not be cheerful. He just enjoyed hanging out with Sasuke and Shikamaru and Kiba and Neji and everyone else he had met in his short stay too much. He had to admit, sometimes Sasuke could be a real ass, and playing go with Shikamaru was enough to drive him up the walls sometimes (he had never lost so badly at anything in his life, and discovered board games were NOT his thing), and Kiba was pretty annoying sometimes with all his persistence and nagging, and he didn't know _what_ to think about Neji sometimes, or more specifically what was shoved up his ass…

…And yet…despite all these little things…he had come to realize…

He _liked_ it here.

Even the villagers hardly bothered him anymore. When he was a kid, he often felt crushed under the weight of their scorn, but now…now he hardly felt a wift of its pressure.

His thoughts were interrupted as a bowl of piping hot ramen was laid in front of him. He cheered.

"Itadakimasu!" he said.

"Itadakimasu," Sasuke echoed more quietly.

They began eating quietly, Naruto even toning down his usually obnoxious slurps a little. Between bites, the blonde cast a sideways glance at the other before turning his eyes back to his bowl. Sasuke did the same.

"Hey, Sasuke?"

Sasuke paused. "Hm?"

Naruto twirled his chopsticks. "I was wondering, don't you have any family at all?

Sasuke was surprised but didn't let it show as he took another bite. "Why do you ask?"

"I was just curious. You never talk about your family."

Of course that was a lie. Naruto really wanted to know Sasuke's feelings about the matter.

"You don't either," Sasuke pointed out.

Naruto blinked, then shrugged, sighing. "You got me there."

"Well, what about you?" Sasuke turned.

Again Naruto shrugged. "What's to say? I don't remember anything about my parents. For all I know, I was born from a tree. I don't have any family."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "None whatsoever?"

Naruto shook his head. "No."

Sasuke frowned a little. He had kind of wondered about Naruto's parents. After all, the blonde had been missing for 7 years, and surely his parents or guardians of whatever would have been frantic with worry. But now he learned there had never been any to begin with.

Well, it made sense, he supposed.

He stared at his food, eyes lowered. "I guess…that must be roof. Raising yourself since you were little, then being kidnapped. But, if you ask me…" he turned to look at Naruto, "I think you turned out pretty well."

Naruto's eyes widened. He almost couldn't believe his ears. That had to have been the nicest thing Sasuke'd ever said to him. Even Itachi had never said something quite like that. Itachi had said, '_No matter what Naruto, you are only what you choose to be, not what everyone else makes you out to be_.'

Sasuke turned back to his food and continued eating. Naruto stared at him for a long moment, before smiling.

'_Sasuke really isn't such a bad guy after all_.'

And suddenly Naruto's eyes widened in realization.

Off all the words that existed, only to perfectly summed up his thoughts.

Oh, _fuck_.

-**End Flashback**-

'**_I foresee a problem here_**.'

"Yeah, no shit!" Naruto spat, "Damn that damn Itachi! Shoving me in the middle of this stupid mess!"

Kyuubi sighed. '**_Calm down, kit_**.'

"Screw you!" was Naruto's reply, kicking the couch and stalking around the room, "I can't believe him! He has a lot of nerve to do this to me, that asshole!"

Naruto's anger had loosened the hold of the seal, and a somewhat transparent, human form Kyuubi was now half-sitting, half-leaning on the back of the couch.

'**_He probably didn't foresee a problem like this_**,' Kyuubi reasoned somewhat.

"The hell he didn't!" Naruto growled, "He even said it himself! What in the seventh ring was he thinking when decided this!"

'**_I bet three of my tails he wasn't_**.'

"You're fond of saying that," Naruto commented offhandedly before throwing himself back into rage mode, "And of course he wasn't thinking! And—ARGH!"

The fox was getting more solid by the moment.

Kyuubi examined his claws. '**_I think you're overreacting_**.'

"Over--OVERREACTING!" Naruto cried, ripping at his hair, "Do you have ANY IDEA what this means?"

The fox simply looked at him and Naruto let out a howl of pure frustration before falling to the floor. After a moment, he curled in slightly on himself.

"What if…what if I…"

Kyuubi reached out with his tails, wrapping them around Naruto before drawing the other to him. When he was close enough, Kyuubi grabbed him with his hands and wrapped him in his arms and fell back over onto the couch, Naruto on top of him.

"Feel better now?"

Naruto just nodded, face buried in Kyuubi's chest.

"He…Itachi told me before that…well, once I got to know Sasuke, I would understand why he spared him. But now I'm afraid…of what will happen if I get _attached_ to him…"

Kyuubi just nodded and ran his fingers through spiky blonde locks. Naruto lay quietly as he did.

'**_Did you realize this, Itachi? Do you really understand what this means_**?'

He looked down at Naruto, whose face was hidden.

'**_I think you gave your brother too much credit, and forgot to consider Naruto_**.'

Naruto's breathing slowed, and Kyuubi sensed that he slept. He continued to stroke Naruto's hair.

'**_Caught between two brothers. And he can only betray one_**.'

* * *

And the 4th chapter is finally DONE! HOLY shit, it only took forever. I bet you're all ready to kill me for taking so long, so break out what ever you've got, and I'll try to stand still. 


End file.
